FRUITS. VARIETIES AND CULTURE. 



401 



A greater number of varieties of the pear are in cultiva- 

 tion than of any other fruit. Of those that have fruited 

 here, the following are the most desirable. The varieties 

 do not always observe with us the order as laid down in 

 the books : 



Joannet. — The earliest pear with us, ripening in May ; 

 but it is small, and of indifferent quality, though it bears 

 well, and is desirable to fill out the season. 



Madeleine comes next in succession ; fruit medium, obo- 

 vate, tapering to the stem, which is long and slender, set 

 on the side of a small swelling ; shin smooth, yellowish- 

 green ; calyx small, in a shallow basin ; flesh white, melt- 

 ing, juicy, sweet, and perfumed. Ripe from the 1st to 

 the loth of June. 



AbercrOMfey. — A seedling from Alabama ; size medium 



to large ; ovate in form ; 

 greenish-gray color, with 

 a blush cheek; flesh 

 white, juicy, and rich; 

 stem short and fleshy ; 

 the best large early pear 

 we have. Ripens June 

 10th. Tree a poor 

 grower. 



Doyenne d 5 Et£. — 



Fruit small, roundish, 

 slightly turbinate; skin 

 smooth, light yellow, 

 shaded with bright red, 

 sprinkled with small 

 gray or russet dots; 

 stalk rather short, thick, 

 fleshy where inserted 

 in the fruit, in a very 

 slight depression ; calyx small, partly closed in a shallow. 



